A 13-year-old girl was detained in Bucaramanga after police found 15.4 lbs of pressed marijuana in her rucksack, newspaper El Espectador reported Tuesday.
According to General Jose Angel Mendoza, commander of the metropolitan police in Bucaramanga, the girl was used to transport the marijuana by criminal groups in the city, which are mostly engaged in small-scale drug trafficking.
The national police recently reported that the use of children to carry small quantities of drugs increased by 18% in 2010, compared to the previous year.
Drug traffickers take advantage of the System of Juvenile Criminal Responsibility, which has been in force since 2006 and stipulates that minors cannot be prosecuted for drug trafficking.
The girl is now in the custody of the Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF).